Title

Travel behaviour, experiences and aspirations of disabled people

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2008

Subject Area

Location - UK, Mobility - Disability Discrimination Act, Mobility - Disabled, Mobility - Independence

Abstract

This report presents the findings of a qualitative study commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) exploring the travel behaviour, experiences and aspirations of disabled people. The study involved qualitative in-depth interviews with a sample of 45 disabled people. In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Estimates of the prevalence of disability are that around one-fifth of adults in Britain are disabled. Evidence presented by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) indicates that disabled people experience considerable disadvantage in terms of transport and travel (DRC, 2003a; DRC, 2003b). Similarly, findings from the National Travel Survey (DfT, 2007) show that disabled people make fewer journeys, and are more reliant on public transport for making these journeys than the general population. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requires that transport providers take 'reasonable steps' to make stations and the services they provide at stations, user-friendly to disabled people. Amendments to the Act in 2005 have meant that disabled people also have, for the first time, the right to be treated fairly and the right for reasonable adjustments onboard buses, coaches, trains and taxis. Key policy initiatives also set out to address barriers to accessing transport for disabled people as a means to tackling social exclusion. This research is not attached to a single policy area or initiative. Rather, it provides an in-depth exploration of how barriers to travel and transport use operate in practice and what disabled people themselves think can make a difference. This will provide valuable evidence for the DfT and others engaged in putting legislative and policy commitments relating to disabled people into practice.